Foras Admonitio
by TheShadeOps
Summary: It's been four months since Twilight returned home to Equestria. A seemingly routine mission left Shade and Rook about to drown in the waters off the coast of Rio. Twilight has a strange dream that takes place on Earth. Are the two connected? - Sequel to Hotel Victor Papa, MLP & MW AU, references to the 'ShadeVerse' loosely. Language and themes.
1. Second Chance

**Hey there all, TSO back with the SEQUEL to Hotel Victor Papa. I am really surprised how well HVP was received, given it was my first foray into writing MLP fic (I've read plenty of it to get an understanding though). So I want to give a HUGE thanks to those to read it and enjoyed it, even if you didn't fav/follow/comment on it.**

**I spent a lot of time working on the first chapter for this, I think I ran through seven different versions before I settled on this one. The music I listened to during the writing helped (NLJ megamixes, Calvin Harris, Linkin Park, Blackgryphon, etc).**

**Oh, also, belated Merry Christmas to you all. I guess I can label this as a late-ish gift, since it is Boxing Day for me down here in Australia.**

**Enough from me, ENJOY!**

* * *

_[GPS ERR – LOCSAT Ident Fail]  
__0200 hours..._

Shade woke with a start, coughing out the small amount of water that was in his lungs. The air in the cabin of the overturned SUV was cool and damp, water slowly dripping from the flooded compartments onto the ceiling. Shade looked around, still hanging upside down from his seat. Unable to get the belt release working, he drew his combat knife from its sheath and slowly cut the belt, his free arm holding him in his seat and stopping him from falling to the ground.

After lowering himself from the seat, Shade quickly checked over his own injuries. He felt lightheaded, a result of having the blood rush from his head when he righted himself, and also felt tight around the chest, no doubt from having the seatbelt lock him into place during the initial impact. He also found a few other small cuts and bruises, caused by the shattered glass and from being mildly thrown around in his seat.

The darkness inside and outside severely limited Shade's visibility, so after he made sure that he was good to move, he cracked a chemlight that he had stored in his vest, the light filling the cabin with an eerie blue glow. The first thing he saw in the new light was his friend Rook, sprawled out on the ground and still unconscious. Unlike Shade, Rook had not been strapped in and had ended up being tossed around in the vehicle during the crash.

Shade felt his friend's neck and found a weak pulse, and after holding his palm in front of Rooks nose and mouth, felt his shallow breaths. Relieved that he was still alive, Shade crawled past Rook into the boot space and reached for one of the small medical kits they brought along with them. It was similar to what a traditional combat medic would carry with them, but augmented with additional equipment from Chemo. Equipment like a neck brace, which was what Shade was desperately looking for.

Since Rook had been thrown around during the crash, Shade had fears that he might have suffered spinal damage of some kind. While he lacked a backboard, Shade could at least prevent further injury to the spinal cord in his neck by fitting Rook with a neck brace. After digging through the kit for what felt like an eternity, Shade retrieved the collar and made his way to his fallen comrade. Rook laid supine on the roof, his head tilted to one side and his arms out by his sides. Shade gingerly moved Rook's head so it was straight in relation to the rest of his body, and very slowly fitted the collar around the man's neck. Satisfied with his work, Shade started checking over his body for other injuries.

_You must be one very lucky sonofabitch Rook..._ thought Shade as all he found in the way of injuries were a severely bruised right leg and left arm, as well as cuts along his other arm and leg from fragments of glass. There was a large gash along Rooks forehead, measuring an inch long but only cutting shallowly. Shade applied gauze to this cut and the other cuts on Rook's body, before taking a minute to finally let the realisation that they were indeed alive sink in.

Shade sat there, his back against one of the seats, and started running through the previous events in his mind. First, there was that unexpected arrival to the exchange, followed by Royce's call that they had been compromised. After that message went out, they had rammed into another vehicle that had somehow snuck up behind them. They immediately took off and started their egress from the target, with the vehicle they had rammed into in pursuit. The chase had taken them onto a freeway that ran past the airport, and the particular stretch of freeway that they had gone off was on the water's edge. There was fairly heavy traffic on the road when they went off.

_So why is it so fucking quiet right now?_

Shade shifted forward and leant down to get a glimpse of the surroundings through the broken window in the door. He took off his helmet and detached the mounted light on the side rail, then activated and pointed it around the outside. To the front of the vehicle was a thick line of trees, to the rear of was a river that fed into a small lake, a windmill feeding to another small river situated a small distance away. To either side were the banks of the river they were on, the bank leading up to the tree line that ran along the edge of the river and lake. Shade shone his light towards the windmill, and the light reached far enough to uncover the shape of civilisation in the distance, and as Shade looked harder, he could see the glow of lights from within the settlement.

He reached back to the front of the cabin, and opened the glove box to grab the small flare gun that was stored inside. A single shot was all he needed to alert whoever was nearby, not caring about who exactly would come to find them. Given the severity of the crash, whoever was chasing them would likely assume that they had died, and not somehow survived to wash ashore someplace else.

Shade lay on his back, his right arm through the side of the window with the flare gun aimed towards the sky. With a squeeze of the trigger, the flare shot up into the dark night's sky, climbing high before igniting and casting a bright red glow over the town. With the sight of the flare, Shade felt a wave of calm crash over him. Before the fatigue took place, Shade slipped on a balaclava over his face, and also covered Rook's face with his own; concealing their identities to whoever might find them.

The red glow from the flare outside and the blue glow from the chemlight gave way to black as Shade fell asleep in the overturned Range Rover SUV.

* * *

_That same time, 150m AGL (above ground level)..._

Rainbow Dash could not sleep that night, try as hard as she could to get comfortable in her cloud home. She spent half an hour trying to force herself to sleep, but gave up and decided to go for a fly to burn off her excess energy. And it had been uneventful, up until a red ball of fire shot into her immediate flight path and ruined her night vision.

_What in the hay was that?_ She quickly recovered from her evasive manoeuvre and hovered near the floating red fireball. It burned as a bright red, nearly white- flame, the red coloured smoke rising above it as the fire slowly fell to the ground. In the light, she could see that a small parachute was attached to the ball of fire, and that was why it was slowly falling to the ground.

She hovered and watched it fall towards the ground, the land below becoming more and more visible as the light got closer and closer to it. It was there she saw a strange shape resting on the bank of the river, near the south-western windmill. Curiosity filled her mind, and she slowly flew closer to the object, the fire now illuminating the object in its light. Her mind froze with recognition of the shape.

_That's a car! How in the hay did a car from Earth get here?_

Without warning, the fire died out, plunging the area into darkness, save for an eerie dull blue glow coming from the car. Rainbow touched down on the bank of the river, and slowly trotted closer to the vehicle, taking in the severe amount of damage it had sustained.

_This car took quite a beating, looks like one of AJ's old apple carts._

She stood to the side of the car, just staring at the wreck, trying to work out a plan of action. Her instincts were telling her to go fetch Twilight and the others before touching anything, but her inner 'Daring Do' was telling her to take a closer look and even look inside. In the end, 'Daring' won out and Rainbow Dash slowly put crept into the vehicle through one of the broken windows. The blue light was brighter inside, but the source was partially obscured by a body that was lying flat on the ground. It took a few seconds for Dash's mind to recognise the shape of the body, but when it did, she nearly screamed, both out of shock and surprise.

_I need to get Twilight!_

* * *

Twilight Sparkle sat by herself on the couch, curled up with a book in her hands, a pair of reading glasses perched on the end of her nose. Aside from the occasional sound of a page turning in her book, the room was silent. Outside, the base was also relatively quiet, most of the personnel having retired to their quarters for the night. Every half hour or so, a soldier on guard duty would pop their head in and check the room, curious as to why the lights were still on at that hour of the night.

Only when she heard the dull thudding of a helicopter approaching did she look up from her book and towards the windows, into the dark night's sky. The sounds of the rotors grew louder and deeper as the helicopter approached, Twilight's mind jumping in recognition of the specific type of aircraft that made that sound. She had grown accustomed to the different sounds of the vehicles that the Task Force used, having spent over two years with them now. Littlebirds were higher in pitch while Pave Low's were far deeper in comparison. The noise she was hearing belonged to a Pave Low, and a Pave Low returning to the base at this time of night could only mean one thing.

_They're back._

Setting her book down, Twilight made her way from the recreation room to the helipad, her pace quickening t as she closed in on her destination. The Pave Low approached overhead, circling to the right of the base before descending onto the permanently-lit aircraft apron. Twilight waited by the edge of the exclusion zone and watched the Pave Low set down, the landing gear taking the weight of the large helicopter. The rear ramp lowered to the ground, the crew chief stepping out to make sure it was secure before she gave the all clear for the passengers on board to disembark. From the distance, Twilight could see Meat and Royce walk out first, rifles hanging by their sides, weary expressions on their faces, blotches of mud and other filth on their uniforms. Archer and Toad followed them, sniper rifles slung over their backs, still wearing their ghillie net suits, Archer with his arm around Toad's shoulders. Ghost stepped off after them, rubbing the back of his neck and shaking his head, looking fairly agitated.

Scarecrow and Jayhawk emerged, a large package in their arms. Twilight remembered that the objective was to secure and recover some critical components from a surveillance satellite that had made landfall in Columbia. By the looks of it, the mission went well, with what appeared to be the critical parts in their hands. Chemo followed them, his weapon slung over his back and carrying a second rifle in his right arm. He looked upset, and his clothes were stained with blood. Twilight's attention focused back onto the helicopter, where she saw Captain Mactavish holding a hand to his face, rubbing his forehead while sighing heavily. He turned to face Twilight, but quickly averted his gaze when they made eye contact. He looked back into the cabin of the Pave Low, and nodded his head to whoever remained inside.

Rook slowly backed out of the aircraft, holding the end of something long in his arms. From the distance, Twilight could not make out the shape as it emerged from the helicopter. Roach stepped out, the other end of the object in his arms. Mactavish stopped them and said something to the both of them, and then took the end that Rook was holding in his arms. Rook turned and looked at Twilight, his eyes visibly widening at the sight of her. He started walking over to Twilight, who at this point started to shake uncontrollably. She quickly ran through who she had seen come back on the helicopter. _Meat and Royce, Ghost, Archer and Toad, Jayhawk, Scarecrow, Chemo, Mactavish, Rook, Roac- no... please no..._

Rook stopped in front of Twilight and looked her in the eyes. Twilight looked in the operators face and could see that he was visibly distraught, but trying to put on a brave face. She peered around Rook and caught a better view of the object that Mactavish and Roach were carrying; a black plastic bag, big enough to carry a body in. She looked back at Rook, who had also looked back at the body bag and saw the realisation in Twilight's eyes. She did all she could to choke back the sobs as she asked the question she already knew the answer to.

"Is that..." she trailed off. Rook took a breath and nodded his head slowly. His emotional barrier was now beginning to crack, and tears started to run from his eyes.

"I'm so sorry Twilight." His voice cracked and he did his best to maintain his composure. But the dam burst as he felt a pair of arms wrap around his mid section, a dampness slowly forming on his chest. He had removed his plate carrier during the flight, the plates in his vest shattered as result of pieces of debris from an explosion, created by an IED placed at the site of the satellite. Twilight sobbed into Rook's chest, not noticing that he was slowly leading her back to her room.

The rest of that night and the following day was a blur to Twilight, who was lying still on the bed in her room. The men on the team had dropped by and offered their condolences, everyone except for Roach and Rook. They had taken the death the hardest, having been the best of friends with the fallen operator. Twilight curled up into a ball, clutching a pillow to her chest. She had spent the last few hours quietly sobbing into the pillow, blocking out the world around her as she cried. Captain Mactavish and Ghost had paid her a visit shortly after their debriefing had concluded; both of the officers were worried for Twilight's welfare, as both were aware of the attachment she had with the fallen operator.

They had tried to console her and talk to her about what she was feeling, but were unable to get her to speak at all. After they had left, the other men had individually checked on their friend, each one of them unable to crack through the emotional barrier that Twilight had erected. Even some of the members from other teams, like Neon from Bravo Team, had dropped by to talk to her. But they too had no luck.

"Twilight..."

A quiet voice in the room caught Twilight's attention, and when she turned to face the source of the voice, she nearly burst into tears. Shade stood by the bed, dressed in his ceremonial dress uniform from the Australian Army, a green beret with the diamonds and dagger of the 2nd Commando Regiment pinned to the front in his left hand. While Twilight knew he had this uniform, as she had seen it in his closet a few times, she had never seen him actually wear it. She studied the uniform from top to bottom, taking in every detail it had to offer, from the embroidered insignia of the Australian Army to the medals pinned to his chest, including the Medal for Gallantry.

"Twilight..."

She broke her stare and looked up into his blue-green eyes, tears starting to form in her own. She reached out a hand to touch him, making contact on his arm. He crouched down to meet her at eye level. With a gentle smile he put his right hand on Twilight's face, using his thumb to wipe away a tear that had fallen. She melted under his touch, and she placed her own hand over his.

"I thought...Mactavish said that you-" She was stopped as Shade placed a finger over her lips.

"He's right, I am..." His expression faltered for a second as he looked to the ground, trailing off. "But that doesn't mean I can't say goodbye..." He looked Twilight back in the eyes, his gentle smile having returned.

"But... but how?" Twilight choked through her tears.

"Magic, Twilight. You of all people should know the power of magic when combined with the love you have for someone close to your heart."

"I guess... it makes sense when you put it that way... but why you?"

"It was either me or the team Twi, and you know that I would give my life in an instant for my brothers. At least they are here to look after you now that I'm gone. You couldn't be in better hands, you know."

"But I want to be in yours!" Twilight cried out loudly, Shade shushing her and making an attempt to calm her down.

"I know Twilight, but sometimes we need to make the wrong decision for the right reasons." He let the silence fill the room as he let the words sink in. With a breath, he spoke up again. "Twilight?"

"Yes Tom?" she sniffed, trying to smile at him.

"I need you to do something for me, it's really important okay?"

"Anything for you, you know that. What is it?"

"I need you to wake up."

* * *

**Poor Twi, it kinda broke my heart to have to write Twi going through something like that.**

**Let me know what you guys thought of this, I will take ANY and EVERY piece of advice I can get.**

**Until next time, TSO out!**


	2. Relocation

**Hey there guys! Happy 2015, and to celebrate, here's a new chapter for Foras Admonitio. For those wondering, _Foras Admonitio_ is the motto of the Australian 2nd Commando Regiment (Shade's home unit), and translates to "Without Warning" (according to the Army site, anyway).**

**Anyway, I am glad that you all enjoyed the first chapter, even happier that I already have a few reviews off the bat. Malaysianpro, I have no intentions on stopping for a while, though I might slow down once university commences again. Then again, my better work has been when I was actually supposed to be studying... eh.**

**Anyway, onwards to the chapter!**

* * *

_"I need you to wake up."_ Twilight's eyes fluttered open, and saw the hovering form of Rainbow Dash above her.

"Twilight, wake up!" She said, her voice sounding panicked with a sense of urgency. Twilight propped herself up in the bed and rubbed her eyes with a hoof, pausing slightly when she felt the indication of tears on her cheeks. With a grumpy look on her face, she looked at Rainbow.

"Rainbow Dash, there had better be a good reason for you to wake me up this early in the morning."

"Well, there was, but when I found you, it looked like you were crying from a nightmare, so I figured that waking you up would help both you and me." The cyan pegasus explained, gesturing towards Twilight and herself.

"And how exactly would this help you as well?"

"I found a car by the edge of the river on the south end of town!" Twilight's eyes widened in recognition of the name.

"Are you sure it wasn't a carriage or cart?" She said, feeling more alert.

"I'm sure it's a car. Carts don't have glass windows and shiny paint jobs, do they?" Rainbow moved to the side as Twilight climbed out of her bed and ran to retrieve her saddlebags.

"Was there anything else besides the car?" Twilight asked, watching as Rainbow set down on the ground and looked around the room nervously. "Well Dash?"

"I, uh, I think I saw somebody inside." She mumbled, her gaze fixed on the floor.

"You mean somepony?" Twilight grew even more worried, hoping that the use of an Earth pronoun was an accident.

"No, I saw a human body inside. Well, I saw two..." she trailed off, as Twilight approached the pegasus with a look of terror on her face.

"Did they see you? What do they look like? They didn't freak out did they?"

Rainbow looked at her friend and held a hoof out to silence her.

"They were unconscious and laying down inside. I think they might be hurt. The car looks like mess, like Applejack had taken a load of stress out on it." The second that Rainbow said that last word, Twilight kicked into overdrive and frantically started packing her saddlebags with supplies. Part of her training with Chemo back on Earth even kicked in, and she was careful with the order in that she packed the supplies in, with least critical items down the bottom of the packs.

"Rainbow, I need you to fetch Applejack and Fluttershy. If this vehicle is as damaged as you say, we might need her strength to access the interior and extract the casualties. Ask her to bring along a cart as well, we'll need a way to move them if they aren't ambulatory," Twilight spoke, running on autopilot as she made the final checks on her equipment. "I'll need Fluttershy to help administer first aid and keep them calm if and when they regain consciousness." She used her magic to place the bags on her back, and made her way to the window. "Where exactly is the car?"

Rainbow thought about it for a second, then answered.

"It's on the eastern bank of the south river, near the windmill. Look for a blue glow, it's coming from inside of the car." With a worried smile, Twilight took off from the window and took to the skies.

* * *

Shade woke to the sound of the door to his side being wrenched open. The crushed metal door fell away and let the cool night's air flood the damp air in the cabin. Shade turned his head slightly to look through the unobstructed entrance, but could not make out whatever it was standing in the gap. The light emanating from behind it left it silhouetted to Shade.

"Ah got it off! 'Shy, you're up." A second being stepped into the light and moved closer, gently stepping through the doorway and closer to Shade. He noticed that the chemlight had lost some of its strength, so the light it was casting was offset by the light through the windows.

The pain in Shade's head made itself apparent, and Shade had to close his eyes to save it from getting any worse.

"Um, you probably can't hear me, but I just want to tell you that we're going to take good care of you." A gentle voice spoke quietly into the cabin, aimed towards neither man in particular. Just from the voice alone, Shade felt he could relax and could feel the pain soothe away. He faded back into unconsciousness, unaware of the third voice that spoke.

* * *

Fluttershy slowly stepped closer to the two unconscious men lying on the ground inside the overturned vehicle, making her way to the closer man. Just by looking at him, Fluttershy could see that he was not terribly injured. A few tear marks and bandages had dotted his body; she could not tell just yet if the injuries were from the incident that left the car here or if they were from prior. She also noted that he was wearing a mask, and had considered removing it until she remembered how Twilight warned about possible spinal injuries.

Speaking of spinal injuries, Fluttershy cast a glance over to the second man and saw that he looked to be in a worse state. A collar was fixed around his neck, a rather large bandage covering a fresh cut on his forehead. He too was wearing a mask, one that covered his face down to his chin, leaving the neck and collar exposed. Like the first man, a set of smaller bandages dotted his body, these looking rather fresh and recently applied. She spotted the bag containing spare medical equipment, and looked at the pattern of the discarded wrappings that rested in the cabin.

_So, the first man must have woken and treated their injuries before he fell unconscious..._

Fluttershy took a step backwards and nearly tripped on a small red object on the ground. She spun around and looked at the offending object. Instantly her mind went back to Earth and the memory of her brief time as a hostage. The object she was looking at was familiar to a weapon that one of her captors had been wielding when they were watching her and her friends. This one however had a shorter and wider barrel, and appeared to only fire a single shot. To confirm her suspicions, a small cylindrical object sat nearby, within easy reach of the weapon.

Her attention turned back to the two men on the ground, and she thought of a plan of action. She stepped through the doorway and walked over to Twilight, who was preparing something in the cart that Applejack had brought with her.

"Twilight, both of the humans inside are alive, but fairly injured. I can't tell how badly they are unless we get them to a proper hospital though." Twilight stopped her work and turned to the pegasus.

"Thanks Fluttershy, I've let Nurse Redheart know that we have a few arrivals incoming to them soon, and forewarned them regarding the nature of their patients. Do they look stable enough to move?"

"Yes, I think, but I need Applejack to create another way to get in. I don't particularly want to move them around much, the less movement the better." Twilight jumped down from the cart and trotted over to the Range Rover. She stepped towards the back and thought for a second. "Applejack?! You think you could go inside and buck that rear hatch open then pry it away?"

The orange earth pony took up a spot beside Twilight and studied the rear hatch herself. "It's doable, but ah need to know which way for sure that the hatch opens. Bein' upside down like that complicates things. Ah'll give it a shot though Twi'." Applejack set her Stetson hat aside and crawled through the SUV to the storage area. Rearing up, she placed a swift kick to the back tailgate, enough for it to break free from the latch. It fell to the ground with the assistance of gravity and the pneumatic struts, allowing easier entrance and a way to extract the two injured humans.

Twilight used her magic to break the tailgate away from the vehicle and lift it clear, and then levitated two flat boards to the rear of the vehicle. With her help, Fluttershy and Applejack slowly pulled the humans onto the boards, Applejack then securing them to the boards with her rope. Now free of the car, Twilight could take a closer look at the two new arrivals. As she studied their appearance, her concern for their wellbeing was quickly dwarfed by her sense of recognition and panic. When she saw the patch on one of the men's vests, she froze in shock. Fluttershy picked up on Twilight's reaction and approached her.

"Twilight, what's wrong?" The alicorn kept her gaze focused on the humans, now loaded into the cart.

"Fluttershy, remember when I was back on Earth and I was staying with a group of soldiers?" The Pegasus nodded. "These two men are from that group."

* * *

When Shade regained consciousness again, the first thing he felt was the lack of pain. His arms and legs felt heavy, and when he tried to move them, he found that they felt restrained. Furthermore, his vision was obscured by some kind of mask. Before he could panic though, he remembered that he had donned his balaclava before he passed out, and figured that it must have slid over his eyes since then. What he could not explain was the soft surface he was lying on, or why his limbs were restrained.

"Ah, I see you've woken up now." The voice startled Shade, and his first reaction was to tense up. "Care to tell me what happened?" Without thinking, he started to call up the resistance part of his enhanced SERE training, and started to recite what he was told he could say.

"Williams, Thomas. Sergeant. Tango-William-Three-Nine-Nine-Six." He waited for the voice to respond.

"Uh, okay. We already have your name, do you mind telling how you arrived here?"

"Williams, Thomas. Sergeant. Tango-William-Three-Nine-Nine-Six." There was a pause, before Shade heard a sigh and the sound of footsteps.

"Look, don't make this harder for me than it already is. I have no idea who or what you are, but you have some important people interested in you. Please, you'll be helping yourself out by telling me anything and everything you can to help me out. Now, can you remember how you got here?"

"Williams, Thomas. Sergeant. Tango-William-Three-Nine-Nine-Six." A frustrated sigh was Shade's response, and he internally smiled at his achievement. The sound of more steps and a door opening and closing indicated to Shade that he was alone. However, shortly after the interrogator departed, the door opened and shut again, and Shade heard sound of lighter steps approaching the side of his bed. He was about to repeat his mantra when the new arrival spoke.

"Is... is that really you?" Shade's eyes widened, the voice setting off a range of memories of the events from four months prior. He recalled the large golden ball of magical energy, the seven figures inside said ball. He remembered the night in his room, six months ago, one of the best nights of his life spent with one of the best people he ever knew. That fateful mission, ten months ago in the Ukraine, when he first saw her, exposed and afraid in the grasp of an insurgent.

_Twilight..._

"Shade?" The voice whispered, full of doubt and emotion. Shade's heart started to race, unsure how to deal with the emotion and memories running through his mind. Taking a moment to compose himself, he spoke up.

"Twilight," he said softly, "please tell me that I'm not going nuts." He awaited a reply, but his answer came in the form of a pair of lips pressed against his.

* * *

Shade sat in a magically adjusted wheelchair, staring at the form in the bed in front of him. Beside him, Twilight stood with a chart in her grasp, reading the notes that were fixed to it. Shade's left hand idly ran through Twilight's mane, while his right fidgeted with the Velcro closure on the right thigh cargo pocket of his combat pants.

Rook lay motionless in the bed, save for the rise and fall of his chest, with various pieces of medical equipment attached to him. IV lines fed into his right arm, providing him with various fluids that would hopefully aid in his recovery. A hastily modified breathing mask covered his face, giving the unconscious man much needed oxygen. The technology that filled the room greatly clashed with the appearance of the small town that Shade had seen through the window. Twilight had given him a basic description of the town while she was on Earth, and Shade had pictured it as a country town with basic amenities.

What he saw however was more like a middle-ages village with a mix of fifties-era and modern era technology. It raised a lot of questions in Shade's mind, but for the time being he attributed it to magic.

"So, he hasn't stirred since you found us?" Shade asked, penetrating the relative silence of the room. Twilight glanced up from the chart and looked to the human.

"From what I've seen and heard, he hasn't. Though, it appears that he's just sleeping it off, and not fallen into a coma." Shade released a breath he had not known he was holding.

"I can't wait for him to wake up, if only to see his reaction." He smirked at the thought.

"Yeah, about that..." Twilight trailed off.

"Something you worried, Twi'."

"He was one of the more receptive people regarding my existence and the circumstances of how I came to your world. But I anticipate his reaction to finding out that he is here, in my world, will not be as positive."

Shade thought about what Twilight had said, and sure enough, Rook might indeed freak out when he learns that he is in Equestria.

"Well then," Shade started, looking at his alicorn companion. "I guess the best plan of attack would be for me to wake him up and tell him myself, rather than have him wake up with a nurse in front of him." He wheeled himself over to his friend's bedside, thinking of a way to wake him up. Twilight watched in confusion as Shade pulled the sheet covering Rook down to his feet. Finding a pair of tweezers, Shade then proceeded to pluck hairs from Rook's toes. The third pull was enough to stir Rook awake, who groaned and lifted his hand to rub his face.

"Welcome to the land of the living mate." Shade chuckled, a smirk growing on his face.

"Fuck you too Shade. Where are we?" Rook asked, before he held up a hand towards Shade. "Don't tell me, some trashy prison in the underground of Rio?"

"Nope, and I guarantee it's the last place you'll ever expect."

"Sick bay at the MCG?"

"Not even close."

"Damn," Rook muttered, now completely clueless to where he was. "Care to give me a hint then?"

"I'm sure this will suffice." Twilight spoke up, watching with a small smile as Rook froze at hearing her voice. She watched as he lowered his hand from his face and looked at her intently. He looked back at Shade, then back to Twilight.

"Shade, is that..."

"Yeah," Shade smiled at the man, amused with his reaction and realisation. "That's Twilight, in her normal form. Trust me, I was surprised as hell as well, but we're both alive and relatively well. Though, 'Tav isn't going to be pleased when he gets the repair bill for the Range Rover." Rook half-laughed and half-grunted at Shade's attempt at humour, still sore from the act of being thrown around like a ragdoll.

"So..." Rook said as his coughing fit subsided. "We're in Ponyworld."

"Ponyville, actually." Shade corrected.

"Right... any clue how we got here?" Shade looked to Twilight, who in turn looked back to Shade, who looked back at Rook with a blank face.

"To be totally honest, I have no clue at all." Rook just stared at Shade with a look that could only be summed up in one word.

"Fuck."

* * *

"Well, he took that rather well." Shade said with a fake smile as he wheeled himself back towards his room in the hospital. "I mean, given the circumstances and knowing his history, passing out is probably the best thing he could have done."

Twilight shook her head and rolled her eyes at the remark, unamused with Shade's take and understanding of the current situation. Shortly after Rook had been told that they had no idea how he and Shade had arrived at Equestria, he had promptly passed out. Said reaction triggered an alarm, sending a team of nurses and doctors rushing through the door. Shade had spent ten minutes trying to explain that Rook was fine and that the events of the day had caught up with him.

"So, Twilight, how long will I be cooped up in this place?"

"Well, I checked with the doctor before I arrived. They were really only concerned with a potential case of whiplash. Other than that, all that you have is just a case of bruising across your chest, most likely from the seat belts locking you into place during whatever kind of crash that left your vehicle in that state." Twilight shuddered at the memory of finding the Range Rover, with crumpled in sides and roof. She had seen images of other vehicles in similar states back when she was on Earth, and had recalled that in many of the stories accompanying those pictures, the occupants often had suffered very serious injuries or had even died. "You are one very lucky man, Tom."

Shade shot her a playful look of shock. "I'm in trouble, aren't I, if you're breaking out the first name."

"Not necessarily, I'm only a tad angry. Otherwise I would have said 'Thomas'." Twilight smirked back at the man, who proceeded to clutch his hand to his chest as he pretended that he was dying.

"Oh, woe is me, for I am feeling the wrath that is Twilight!" He started chuckling as Twilight once again shook her head at Shade's antics. _His sense of humour has not changed one bit since I last saw him._ "Seriously though, Twi'. You never answered my question."

"And what question was that?"

"How long till I get out."

"Well, you can leave today if you feel up to it." Shade stopped in the middle of the corridor as he processed the information. Twilight watched him as he slowly looked at himself and at the wheelchair. With a look of confusion, he looked back to Twilight.

"So why the fuck am I using a wheelchair if I can walk?"

* * *

**Ah, gotta love Shade and his sense of humour. I wonder how he has survived being in TF141 with it.**

**\- I wonder where I get it from...**

**Shush you. Anyway, you all know the drill. Review, fav, follow, do whatever it is you guys do.**

**Until next time!**

**TSO out.**


	3. Rekindled Bonds and New Alliances

**Well hey there guys, TSO here with a fresh new chapter for FA. Been a little while my last update (it certainty feels that way anyway). Might be a little while until the next one. I figure there should be one more chapter (after this one) of Shade settling in before I jump into the bigger story. After all, Rook still needs to heal and recover after being used like a ragdoll, wouldn't you agree?**

**This is a bit longer than normal too. I've noticed that since I started writing HVP and FA, my chapter length has almost, if not exceeded, double of my average (not counting ANs like these).**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

"So, what happens now?" Shade stood in the middle of the library's common area, stretching his arms out as he looked around the room. Everything appeared slightly smaller than what he was used to, but that was a given as he was slightly larger than most inhabitants on this world. The size deficit would take a bit of time to get used to.

"Well, I've already informed the Princess's about your arrival. They'll come down and speak to you and Rook once you both have recovered enough. Until then, I guess we wait and settle you into town." Twilight trotted beside Shade, resting her head up against Shade's right arm. He lifted his arm and hung it over her in a loose sideways hug. "I don't know how long you two will be here for, and I would be lying if I said I didn't want you to leave, but I feel that it would be best to get you back as soon as possible."

"Hey now," Shade started, looking down at the alicorn. "Take however long you need. While the timing did suck, the force will be able to handle operations while two men down. Chances are that they'll rotate two operators from the reserves or something, that's how we manage whenever guys are out injured or something."

"I know Shade, but I feel guilty about having you here away from your team." Twilight looked towards the ground, before she looked back up and locked her eyes with Shade's.

"So, while I can think of it, what happened to all of our gear in the Rover?" He stepped away from Twilight and took a seat at one of the chairs near a bookshelf. "Come to think of it, what happened to my plate carrier and weapon?" Twilight trotted over to what looked like a storage room, and opened a door. With her magic, she levitated out a set of large duffel bags, plus two plate carriers and sets of weapons. Shade recognised the carriers as being his and Rooks; he assumed that they must have removed them when they had arrived at the hospital. The rifles, sidearms and the sub-gun that Rook was using during the chase rested in front of the bags. Shade walked over to the weapons and inspected them, surprised to find them unloaded. He had left them loaded in the vehicle during the mission, just in case they needed them in a hurry. Shade cast a sideways glance to Twilight, who averted eye contact and instead closed the door.

"Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash moved all of your stuff here while Applejack, Fluttershy and I took you to get medical care." She looked at the gear for a second before looking up at Shade. "I still remember the things the team taught me; Chemo's crash-course in first aid and human physiology really helped me and the doctors treat yours and Rook's injuries." She noticed Shade's worried expression, and quickly realised what his fear was. "Oh, I made sure all the weapons were unloaded and made safe before I gave them to Rarity to move. I would not let Pinkie Pie near them, even if her hooves were held together with titanium restraints."

Shade let out a breath he had not realised he was holding. "Oh, thank goodness for that. Last thing I want is Pinkie Pie using my Austeyr as her new 'party cannon'." He shuddered at the thought, an action mirrored by Twilight. Shade set the weapons aside and started digging through one of the duffel bags. The four bags each carried different equipment. Both Rook and Shade had a bag each, filled with spare uniforms and other equipment they might need if they were separated from the team, not to mention a few personal effects should they need them, stuff like civilian clothes, currency, phones and other electronic devices.

The third bag contained extra munitions and other supplies that they both might need, such as batteries, flares, rations, radios and the like. The fourth was their first aid kit, filled with various life saving tools and pieces of equipment. He noted the lack of the neck brace he had fitted to Rook, as well as a few missing bandage wraps. Those aside, he found that everything that should be there was there.

"You have no idea how much I appreciate this Twilight. This stuff will help us last for a while, I just can't guarantee how long." He zipped up three of the four bags, leaving his open. "Hey, Twi', got a room I could borrow for a second?" When he looked at her, she had her head buried in a book, the cover of which Shade could not read. Without looking up, she answered.

"Up the stairs, second door on the right." Not wanting to break her concentration any further, Shade carried the bag up to the room and closed the door. With a quick look around, he was quickly able to tell that this was Twilight's bedroom. _A lot of books in here..._ Setting the bag on the bed, Shade changed out of the stained and battered uniform he was wearing and into something a little more comfortable; a tan undershirt that had the unit badge of the 2nd Commando Regiment on the left breast, DPCU-pattern uniform pants and a pair of rugged mountain shoes. He stuffed the soiled uniform back into the bag and pulled out a DPCU baseball cap, an Australian flag affixed to the front Velcro patch. With the bag over his shoulder, he moved back downstairs to move the remaining bags and equipment back into the closet for safekeeping.

As he approached the bottom of the stairs, he saw Twilight reading over a book at her desk, her face fixed with a look of somebody hunting for something in particular. He coughed at caught her attention, breaking her concentration and making her look up at the man. Recognising who the interruption was, Twilight broke into a small smile.

"Just in time Shade, I was looking for something I wrote down earlier; I really want to show you this." Twilight stepped away from the desk and into the middle of the room. Her horn started to glow with an aura of purple light surrounding it. The aura began to move and cover her body, before the intensity of the light grew so intense that Shade had to cover his eyes in fear of losing his eyesight. After a minute, he sensed that the light had faded and uncovered his eyes. What he saw surprised him.

In the space where Twilight was now stood an instantly recognisable person, slowly spinning around to display her look.

"So Shade, what do you think?" Twilight asked, completing her spin to face Shade with her hands on her hips. "I've been working on this spell ever since I returned. At first I had to cast it as an active spell, but the constant strain on my magic meant that I could only maintain it for half an hour at the most. It also left me unable to cast any other spells at the same time."

Shade let out a small whistle as he studied the human form of Twilight, memories of their time together starting to flash in his mind. "I take it that isn't the case anymore?"

"No, about a month ago I tweaked the spell to that of a passive one, meaning I only need to cast it once, and then cast a recharge every hour if I intend to stay in this form. Being a passive spell, it also allows me to utilise my magic as normal, albeit it through my hands instead of my horn. I've actually been able to complete a fair few of my experiments faster and with better results using a combination of this form and my magic."

"I guess that's because the hands provide increased dexterity in comparison to hooves and wings?"

"Exactly." Twilight smiled, flexing her fingers and twisting her right wrist out in front of her to demonstrate. "The only drawback is the size difference. If I had a bit for every time I whacked my head against the ceiling or doorframe in this form, I'd have enough to fund construction of a castle!" She rubbed her forehead and chuckled, Shade following suit.

"I assume you also have a way to cancel the spell midway through? Say, if you needed to revert prior to the recharge point?"

"Of course, who in their right mind casts advanced morphing spells without some kind of emergency revert?" Twilight held up her arms as an exclamation. Shade could tell that she was taking advantage of the increased range of expression that a human body could offer over that of an equine form. Shade smirked as he responded.

"Oh, I could think of a few ponies." Twilight stood still for a minute as she thought over Shade's response and expression, before shooting him a dirty look and walking over to lightly punch him in the shoulder. Before she could land the blow however, Shade caught her hand and pulled her in to a close hug, his arms wrapping around the smaller human frame that was Twilight. The action caught her off guard, and she tensed up as a result. A second passed before the act registered, and Shade could feel her relax into the hug and pull herself tighter into him.

"Oh, it's been too long since I've been able to do this." Twilight said quietly, her head still pressed against Shade's chest, her arms around Shade's midsection and holding on for all their worth.

"You and me both Twi', you and me both." A few minutes passed as they held each other, making up for lost time, before Twilight broke the contact and stood back. Shade looked at her and gave her his trademark smirk. "Good to see that your spell also includes clothing too." He looked down at the clothing that Twilight was wearing, and took in the finer details; she was wearing a Crye G3 combat shirt and pants, but not in any recognisable colour style. The shirt was two-tone colour lavender, like her coat, with an embroidered patch of her cutie mark on each sleeve pocket, and the sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, covering the integral joint protection. The pants bore a camouflage print of which Shade could swear he had seen before, coloured in various shades of violet and purple. They were bloused over a pair of black boots, clean but unpolished. Looking back at the pants, Shade could not help but shake the feeling that he had seen the pattern style before. It was not until he put his own pant leg next to hers when the realisation dawned on him.

"Twi', is that recoloured Auscam you're wearing?" Shade chuckled as he spoke, already knowing the answer as he continued to study the pattern.

"Yeah, it is." When Shade looked at her, she elaborated. "Well, when I came home, I still had two sets of that uniform you let me borrow, one set in Auscam and the other in that Multicam. Once I had the basics of the morphing spell completed, I started to run into the same issue I had when I first arrived on Earth."

"The inherent lack of privacy in regards to certain areas of the anatomy?" Shade quipped.

"Exactly. So I asked my good friend Rarity to make me something with the clothes I still had." Another look from Shade made her sigh. "I may or may not have asked her to personalise it. When I collected it, she said and I quote, 'That Auscam is such a horrid pattern to look at, but much easier to alter than that dreadful Multicam'."

"While I must admit that the new colour scheme you have isn't exactly practical from a concealment standpoint, it still somehow suits you. It also works with the solid colour shirt too." Shade smiled as confirmation to his statement. Twilight leant back in to kiss him again, but was interrupted as the door to the library swang open, with a small dragon clutching a stack of blank scrolls in his arms.

"Hey Twilight, I bought those new scrolls that you asked for. I think you may want to talk to the store owner though, I swear the pri-" He stopped as he turned to face the two humans in the room, after depositing the scrolls on a nearby desk. Spike looked at Twilight, her arms around the neck of the second being, then at the unfamiliar human, its hands resting on the hips of Twilight, then back at Twilight. Shade, sensing the growing awkward silence, decided to break the ice.

"Hi there, I'm Shade."

* * *

"That wasn't nice you know," Twilight grumbled as she levitated an icepack onto the forehead of the unconscious dragon laying on the nearby couch. Shade sat nearby, going through one of the bags he had yet to put away.

"Well, I can understand his reaction. Imagine coming home and finding a stranger in a somewhat passionate embrace with somebody who is, for all intents and purposes, your older sister or mother?" Shade looked towards Spike, and then sighed. "I'm surprised the little guy took it as well as he did."

"What do you mean?" Twilight said, trotting over to the kitchen in her equine form, her head slightly tilted in confusion. Shade got a small, evil smile on his face as he posed his next question.

"Ever walk in on your parents?" He let the obvious implications of his question hang in the air, listening as a crash of glass sounded from inside the kitchen. "Thought so. Now you understand how Spike may have felt." Twilight re-entered the room with a glass of water in her slightly shaky magical grasp, her face tinted in a bright red.

"B-but we weren't even-"

"Yes, we might not have been doing _that_, but what does Spike know of the intimate body language of the human species? To him, it may have looked like we were. That is if you haven't spent hours and hours teaching him about human biology, physiology and psychology." Shade shot Twilight a knowing glance, who in turn averted her gaze back to the dragon. "Thought so. So he practically knows next to nothing about my kind and how we act, aside from what he might have seen during your experimentation with that spell."

Shade continued to dig through the bag he had on the floor, before exclaiming something in victory. Puzzled, Twilight trotted over to see what Shade had found.

"Thank fuck that I found this, let's just hope it survived the crash." He pulled out a small silver device from the bag, a device that Twilight recognised as an iPhone. Shade pressed on the buttons to activate it, and his face lit up as the screen came to life. His joy was short-lived however when he noted the state of the battery, which read ten percent charge.

"Don't worry Shade, I know a few electrical charge spells that will keep that alive." She propped herself on her hind legs and rested on Shade's back, her front legs and head on his shoulders.

"I don't suppose any of them involve perpetual energy, right?" Shade chuckled, knowing the answer already. The pause that emanated from Twilight had him second guessing though.

"There are a few, but they are really only for weather control purposes, for use with things with lightning and other ultra-high energy currents." She hummed in thought before speaking up again. "I think there is a way for me to downscale the input, but I doubt it would be wise to risk a device such as that with such a spell."

"I have to agree with you there, Twi'. There's a lot of stuff on here that I don't particularly want to lose, especially if I'm going to be here for an extended period of time." Shade braced as Twilight pushed herself off of his back, and stood up to stretch his arms out. He looked over to Spike with a bit of concern. "How's the little one?" Twilight looked over to her assistant and smiled.

"He's now sleeping by the look of it. I guess all that commotion last night woke him up, that combined with the errands I had him run this morning must have taken its toll." Twilight left the room and shortly returned with her saddlebags on her back. "Well, I've got some more errands to run, I trust you can look after yourself and stay out of trouble while I'm gone?"

"Sure Twi', I got it."

As Twilight walked out of the library, Shade took another look at the sleeping dragon on the couch. _Kid's got the right idea; I guess it wouldn't hurt to catch up on some sleep._ Shade started walking towards the stairs when he started hearing distant crying and shouting from outside. His curiosity taking the best of him, Shade walked towards a window nearest the sound, and looked outside. To his displeasure and shock, he saw what appeared to be a group of five children standing across the street, two of them holding back a third by the tail, while the two others appeared to be laughing and saying hurtful things towards the larger group. After focusing a little harder on the group, he could make out a distinct lack of cutie marks on the group of three, while the two others had the mark of a tiara and a spoon, respectively.

After taking in as much detail regarding the scene as possible, Shade came to the conclusion that he was witnessing a group of children being bullied. As that realisation struck, something inside him awoke, a feeling he had not felt for many years. Shade walked over to his equipment bag and started pulling out his plate carrier and helmet, hanging it from the vest by its strap as he donned the vest over his shirt. Walking towards the door, a single thought played through his mind.

_So much for staying out of trouble..._

* * *

For the Cutie Mark Crusaders, their day had been progressively getting worse and worse. For starters, their various attempts at earning their marks had failed spectacularly. After each attempt, their morale started to drop to the point where they were becoming increasingly frustrated at their failures. Their latest attempt, earning a mark for engineering and building an advanced flying apparatus used for long distance transport, had crashed and broken into little pieces after only covering less than the length of an apple tree on its side. The crash had also occurred directly in front of the Crusader's arch-nemeses, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

The two snobbish and spoilt fillies had taken no restraint in tormenting the Crusaders' failure, using all kind of insults and innuendo in regards to their supposed hopelessness.

"Maybe you'll never get your cutie marks, and grow up to be a bunch of talentless ponies for the rest of your lives!" Diamond Tiara cackled as the two fillies followed the Crusaders past the Golden Oaks Library. "Maybe you'll get a cutie mark in not getting a cutie mark!"

"Wait, they probably already have them!" Silver Spoon interjected, generating a fresh bout of laughter from the two brats. Scootaloo took this moment to break away from her friends and make an attempt to tackle Diamond, only to be stopped by a pull on the tail from Applebloom, who had her friend's tail in her teeth. Diamond saw her reaction, and only used it to further her attacks.

"Well well, is the chicken growing a backbone for once? Why don't you fly over here and show me? Oh wait, you can't!" Scootaloo strained against her friend's restraint to no avail.

"Scoots, it's not it," Applebloom grunted through her closed teeth, fighting to keep her friend from making a decision she may later regret. While she personally could not stand the antics of Diamond Tiara and her friend Silver Spoon, she did not want to see her own friends sink to their level, or even lower.

"That's right Chicken, listen to your friend, at least she has two brain cells instead of one, unlike the rest of her family!" Applebloom felt a pang of anger surge through her veins at the insult, but steeled herself and tried her hardest to focus on keeping Scootaloo in place. However, she could feel her tail starting to slip through her teeth, meaning that she would be free in a few more seconds. That was only if Diamond did not hurl another insult.

"It must be sad to be Rainbow Dash, having to put up with someone the likes of her," Silver Spoon started, pointing a hoof towards Scootaloo, "day in and day out. It must be really annoying to know a chicken, let alone have one as a fan."

_Oh buck._ Applebloom braced herself against the inevitable surge from her friend after hearing the insult regarding Scootaloo's idol.

"You little-!" Scootaloo started to scream, but was cut off as a new voice cut across the street they were standing in.

"Hey, you leave those girls alone right this second." The voice was deep and dripping with authority, but also had an accent that none of the five fillies had ever heard in their lives. They all looked towards the owner of the voice, only to see a being that none of them had ever seen before. Before them stood a figure around the size of a Minotaur; only without the fur, horns or overly wide torso. Instead, its muscle structure was fairly proportional and uniform with the rest of its body. Its head had a strange shape to it, but had the recognisable elements of eyes, nose, mouth and ears. A hat covered the short cropped mane it had on its head.

It also wore a strange looking set of clothes. Its legs were covered in pants that were coloured in green and brown blotches and shapes, while its body was covered in a tan shirt. It also wore a strange item that covered its chest and back, in the same pattern as the pants, and fitted with what looked like different pouches and pockets. All in all, the stranger was quite intimidating, and that was before it knelt down before them and spoke again.

* * *

"So," Shade started, looking at the fillies and their bullies, "from the looks of it, you two seem to be giving these three a hard time." Shade focused his gaze on the fillies with the tiara and spoon as their marks, an expressionless look on his face. "Am I right?" 'Spoon', as he had internally dubbed her, broke eye contact and started to look at the ground, her legs starting to tremble. The other once, 'Princess', looked at Shade with an indifferent expression. She stuck her nose up at him and smirked.

"So what if we are? What is a freak like you going to do about it?" _She's feisty, I'll give her that._ He glanced at the other three, who stared at her in shock and awe. He supposed that they were stunned that she would dare talk to a complete stranger, in all meanings of the word, like that.

"Well, right now, not much." Shade said simply, while he plotted out a range of tactics and actions he could take, all depending on her action. "I'm just curious, really."

"If you must know, these three _blank flanks_ have been wreaking havoc around the town with their antics with the faintest hope that they might actually earn their cutie mark." She spat the words 'blank flank' with venom, shooting a death glare at the three fillies in question. Shade pondered over her words before he came up with a response.

"I'm going to be honest here. I can't see the issue with having a blank flank. What is the big deal with cutie marks anyway?" Of course, Shade knew all there was to be known about cutie marks, courtesy of one Princess of Magic. However, he decided to feign knowledge in order to see what Princess had to say. Her reaction to his question was priceless; it was as if he had asked who Princess Celestia was while standing right beside her.

"_What_ is the big deal with _cutie marks!?_" Princess started, her voice increasing in volume as she spoke. "Oh, it's only how they determine your _destiny!_ How they show what you are _special at!_" Shade grinned, as Princess had unknowingly walked right into Shade's trap.

"Oh, I see. So, given that they are a sign of your destiny or what makes you special," Shade started, pointing towards Princess's mark, "I assume that yours means that you're going to be a stuck up snob with no care for others?" Shade then gestured towards Spoon. "And how that you're going to be spoon-fed everything want and need for your life?" He then looked towards the three blank flanked ponies, who just stared at him with looks of shock on their faces, jaws practically on the ground. "How I see it, these three are the lucky ones. They have yet to determine their destiny or what makes them special, which makes them special in their own way. They get to enjoy the feeling of being who they are without having to live your live according to some mark on their rear."

Princess and Spoon could only stammer a response to Shade's statement, turning around and rushing off to invariably whinge and complain about how they were outsmarted by a stranger. Satisfied, Shade looked back towards the three fillies, who now looked at him with expressions of pure, unabated joy. Their smiles were wide, eyes glistening with sheer amazement. The orange one in particular looked like she was going to burst.

"You just shot down Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon." She said in a high-pitched whisper. "You took their marks and threw it in their faces... teach me your ways!" She finished with a scream, her tiny wings providing a surprising amount of force as she leapt onto Shade and tackled him onto the ground in a bone-crushing hug. The other two were quick to follow, hooves wrapped around Shade's chest and legs, all three of them saying thanks over the top of each other. They finally let Shade up again and sat in front of him, watching as he brushed the dust and dirt off of his vest and clothes.

"So, that's their names. To be honest, that wasn't particularly surprising." _One of two isn't bad._ "And you three are?" The yellow one spoke up, standing in front of her two companions with a fresh surge of enthusiasm.

"Well, Ah'm Applebloom, this is Sweetie Belle and that's Scootaloo. Together..."

"WE'RE THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!" The three of them shouted as one. As Shade took this information into mind, he could not help but shade this feeling that he was about to make a huge mistake.

"So, what are the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders'?"

* * *

**MAN, that was satisfying having Shade tell off Diamond and Silver like that. Felt great after writing that section, it practically wrote itself. Bullies, they deserve what they get, am I right?**

**So, for me, university starts up again in just over a week, so my update pace may slow down (a little or a lot, we'll see). Shout out to Malaysianpro for the review, again. Seriously bro, really happy that you're enjoying this.**

**Anyway, that's enough from me now. Until next time,**

**TSO out.**


	4. Rest, Recovery, and Realisations

Two hours.

Two hours of one-sided discussion about cutie marks, the aforementioned Crusaders, the activities the Crusaders undertook, as well as the outcomes and fallout from said crusades. Two hours of having to listen to three little fillies speak at a pace that could rival a M134 Minigun with an unlimited supply of ammunition and perpetually cold barrels. Two hours until Twilight returned home to the library to find Shade lying on couch with an icepack on his forehead and a mask over his eyes.

"Let me guess," Twilight began, setting her saddlebags down beside her desk, "you met the Cutie Mark Crusaders?" She watched as Shade slowly lifted his right hand and extended his middle finger towards her, a groan accompanying the mention of the fillies. Twilight simply chuckled at the gesture as she unpacked her bags, placing her newly purchased notepads and books along her desk for sorting and arranging later. She turned towards Shade and noted his obvious discomfort. "Don't worry; the headache will pass with time. After the fourth encounter, they will get less and less severe until such a point where you won't suffer them again." She walked over to him and stopped by his side. With a gentle smile, she cast her morphing spell and changed into her human form once again. "I can help you with the discomfort for the time being though." She lowered herself onto the crowded couch and started to snuggle against the worn out soldier, already starting to relax at the contact.

"You have no idea how much better I'm feeling already Twi', seriously." Shade quietly chuckled, shifting his posture to allow Twilight some more room. He then wrapped his free arm around her side, pulling her closer into him. They both let out a contented sigh as they slowly drifted asleep.

* * *

The next few days passed by pretty quickly. Shade had spent them getting himself familiar with the layout of the town; doing so while avoiding unnecessary contact with the rest of the population, as per Twilight's instructions; while also reacquainting himself with Twilight's five friends, the same five that arrived with Princess Celestia to bring Twilight back home. They were all relieved to see him doing well given the circumstances of his arrival, and his condition when they had found them.

Rook had also been released from hospital, fortunate enough not to have fractured his neck as Shade had feared when he first came to in Equestria. Like Shade, Rook had only suffered bruising and cuts across his body from the crash, just on a larger and slightly more serious scale. Still, both men were extraordinarily lucky to be alive. Rook now shared the spare room that Shade was bunked in; both men sleeping on some cots that Twilight had prepared specifically for them using modified pony-sized cots.

By the end of the week, both men had a clean bill of health and were ready to start exploring the town. Twilight had suggested that they make the transition into Ponyville as quickly and as painlessly as possible; by holding a full-town conference announcing their existence and place in the town. The conference itself went extremely well, to both of the men's surprise. All of the population were quick to embrace the operators, to the point where Twilight and her friends had to quickly intervene before the town overwhelmed the men with questions.

And this all before Twilight revealed that both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had requested to see them as soon as they felt capable of the journey.

* * *

"So, ever met royalty before?" Rook asked as he finished fastening his BLAST belt around his pants before retrieving his plate carrier from the nearby desk.

"Well, unless you count the rescue and subsequent informal discussion I had with Celestia back home, then no: I have never met royalty before." Shade replied as he strapped his own plate carrier on, ensuring that it fit snugly while not restricting his movement. "I know that Roach got to meet Prince Harry during his time in the SAS. I think he was part of a PSD or something to that effect."

Rook grunted his response as Twilight walked into the room that they were sharing. She was once again in her human form, saying something about making them feel comfortable in the short term. Shade had repeatedly told her not to worry about it, but to no success.

"The carriage is outside and ready to go whenever you two are all set." She said as she glanced up from the scroll she had in her hands. "We're actually ahead of schedule by about fifteen minutes, meaning that we'll have a little bit of time to tour the castle before your audience."

"Thanks Twi'," Shade said as he stepped over and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm ready to go, just waiting on slow poke over there to get his shit together." He said as he jerked a thumb over to Rook, who flipped him off in return as he hung his M416 around his shoulders by its sling. The two operators were going in their battle gear; both as a comfort measure and as a way to dissuade and deter any trouble makers.

"Please, you're only ready because you're trying to impress your girlfriend." Rook smirked as he ran his hands over his vest and his pockets, mentally checking off his inventory. "Seriously Twilight, I can't see anything appealing about Shade, and I work with him for a living." Twilight shook her head and laughed off the statement, stepping beside Shade and hanging an arm around his neck.

"He's intellectual, chivalrous, disciplined, caring, understanding, assertive and very mature. He's not bad to look at either, which is a plus." Twilight punctuated this by pecking Shade on the cheek. Rook just stared at the pair with wide eyes, stunned by Twilight's remark as Shade poked his tongue at him.

"You're just jealous, aren't you Rook." Shade teased, to which Rook grumbled and turned around to face away from him. "Classic jealousy right there Twi'." Twilight just shook her head and let go of Shade, wandering over to a desk where her own belongings sat. Rook double-checked his rifle and then walked over to Shade, the two fist-bumping to say that they were set and ready to go. Twilight rejoined them with her saddlebags over her shoulder, conscious of the fact that her human-form would revert back during the trip to Canterlot.

"Shall we get going boys?"

* * *

"I know I should have expected some kind of security team in place for our arrival, but is the presidential motorcade necessary?" Shade asked as the carriage they were riding on, escorted by four other carriages packed with fully armoured members of the Royal Guard, travelled through the main roads of Canterlot.

"It's really more for me than it is you, Shade..." Twilight said meekly, shifting to sit just that extra bit closer to the soldier in their seat in her pony-form, the spell having worn off before they arrived. "I am a personal student of Princess Celestia, and one of the Elements of Harmony." When the three had arrived at Canterlot Central Station, they were immediately flanked by guards and escorted to a five-carriage convoy. Like some of the guards Shade and Rook had spotted back in Ponyville these guards all wore ceremonial steel-plate armour reminiscent of ancient Spartan soldiers.

_'__Impressive,'_ thought Shade, '_but nothing that would stop the five-five-six rounds of their rifles_.'

"Woah... that's the palace?" Rook's awed exclamation drew Shade from his observations, and quickly joined Rook in the 'awestruck' department as they gazed up at the Royal Canterlot Palace. Shade recalled a few of the conversations that he'd had with Twilight back at the base; how vividly she described the entire exterior and interior of the palace in its entirety. He had assumed by the description alone that the palace would be grand and majestic as expected, but nothing quite like _this._ The palace on the edge of the mountain side, overlooking the city like a hawk on its perch. Towers sprung out from the complex, flanking a large hall. The palace commanded respect, as any palace should: Shade could recall how intimidating some of the mansions and castle-inspired complexes he had seen and visited in Abu Dhabi.

Curious, he looked over to Twilight and saw that she looked upon the castle with warm eyes, a look he was familiar with himself whenever he was walking through the international terminal in Brisbane after disembarking from his flight home. With a small smirk, he nudged her side and chuckled to himself, watching her snap out of her gaze and blush mildly in embarrassment.

"No place like home, right?" Twilight nodded in agreement to Shade's remark.

"Yeah... no place like home..." She sighed, leaning into Shade as the three of them looked out of the window of the carriage as they passed through the large gates of the palace walls.

* * *

"Sergeants Williams and Cooper, it is wonderful to see you again after so long. Though, I wish it were under better circumstances..." Princess Celestia said as she stepped down from her throne to greet the two soldiers. She was quite the sight in her pony form, equally as tall as her human form when she was on Earth. But her presence naturally commanded respect, and both Shade and Rook instinctively saluted in respect to her. "There's no need for that here, but the sentiment is appreciated nonetheless. Now, I trust that the both of you are doing fairly well in light of recent events?"

"Still a little banged up from the fight, but nothing we can't handle. I doubt we'd be up and walking like we have been if we were back home, though. We don't have magic that can heal broken bones and the like back there after all..." Rook said as they relaxed, following the princess out of the throne room and into somewhere a little more private.

"Yeah, but the R-and-R we've had since coming here has helped tremendously as well. Normally we'd stay in the hospital for treatment, then get straight into rehabilitation and then back into the fight. Kind of a rushed process given how time sensitive some of our operations are." Shade added, his head on a constant swivel as he took in the hallway and all of the detail around him. "Here, there's no real rush for the next mission, meaning we can take it easier than we would normally have." He looked down at Twilight and smiled fondly. "Plus, having a loved one nearby can speed up the recovery process."

Celestia laughed softly at the last remark, turning and looking at her now-blushing student. "Yes, that is quite the truth when it comes to healing. No matter what methods of treatment have been used, nothing can beat the effect that someone you love nearby has." The group finally reached an office near the end of the hallway, the princess entering first. Inside the room was a table and chairs large enough to seat them all. "I take it that you've been busy since we last met?"

"Classified information notwithstanding, we have been non-stop. Terror doesn't sleep and neither do we, I'm afraid. I'm not sure if you were aware, but we were in the middle of a mission when we arrived here." Shade replied, taking a seat next to Twilight and facing Celestia. "Not that I'm complaining... we would have most certainly died if we weren't teleported across."

"Yes, about that... I don't suppose you recall what happened prior to coming here?" Celestia asked, looking at Shade curiously.

"Well, the cabin of our SUV was filling with water, Rook was passed out, I thought we were going to die; I decided that the last thing I wanted to think about before going was Twilight, so I channelled my thoughts into that crystal you gave me the day you took her home. I remember seeing a purple light, but I figured that was just the crystal working its magic." As he said this, Shade retrieved the crystal in question from around his neck and sat it on the desk between them. Twilight peered over and looked at it closely, holding it in her magical aura as she did so.

"Princess, why did you give him this kind of crystal for storing memories?" She asked, looking at the Princess with an expression that displayed both confusion and curiosity. "You and I both know that something like an enchanted Mindstone would have suited memory storage just fine."

"I know, Twilight... I will admit I wasn't entirely truthful in my motives when I left the crystal behind for you, Thomas." At this, Shade raised an eyebrow and unconsciously leant forward in anticipation. "Yes, the crystal did allow you to call upon memories and view them as clear as day, which I do not doubt you used frequently. But, I did cast an extra enchantment that would trigger if Shade's emotions at the time of use were strong enough, such as in a life-or-death situation. It would allow him an 'escape' from his situation and bring him to someplace safe and sound, specifically it would bring him here."

The silence in the room after Celestia had finished was deafening. Shade leant back in his seat as the implications of what he had heard hit him. He had been carrying an escape with him for all that time since Twilight's departure. Something he could have used at any time to get out of a fight, albeit unknowingly. He could have been pinned down and the last man left on a mission, use the crystal to think of Twilight like he had done so in the car in the water, and been brought to Equestria in the blink of an eye.

He didn't know how to feel about that. One part of him felt sick at the thought of having a 'way out' when the rest of his team didn't. Another part was amazed to know that he had a way of seeing Twilight again, after he had resigned himself to the fact that he'd never see her again.

"So... you planned this then?" Rook broke the silence, looking slightly hurt by the truth. "You planned on Shade facing death and losing, and gave him a way out..."

"It pains me to admit it, but yes I did. But I never told him this; not until just now. I was confident that Thomas would live throughout his entire career, and live to a healthy age. But in the circumstance where he found himself about to die in duty, I felt it necessary to give him an escape. Granted, he wouldn't have known until after it occurred..."

"Yeah, no offense Princess but it kinda fucked with me to go from 'about to die in South America' to 'recovering in a hospital in Ponyville'." Shade said with a quiet chuckle, looking slightly uncomfortable at the revelation. "Though, I can now understand what it was like for Twilight to come to our world; new sights, sounds and the like."

"Yes, exactly..." Celestia trailed off, before levelling a steady gaze at the soldier. "Thomas, answer me this and answer it honestly: would you have used the crystal before now had you known that it was enchanted?"

"I..." Shade started, before going silent in thought. His eyes moved from Celestia, to Twilight, then Rook and finally the table between them. After a few minutes of silence, he looked back up at Twilight. "I honestly couldn't say. There were times in the last few months where all I wanted was to see you again. But there were also times where I wouldn't give up what I was doing for anything." He shifted his focus to Celestia. "I can't say that I would have never give the idea any thought or consideration, but I don't know if I could have followed through and actually done it."

"I see... Twilight, Jayson; if you could give Thomas and I some privacy... we have a few things to talk about."

* * *

The alicorn and soldier waited outside for what felt like an hour, sitting in silence as they waited for Shade and Celestia to finish talking. Rook had tried listening through the door, but his idea was shot down by Twilight informing him of the multiple soundproofing spells that were cast on each of the rooms.

Finally, a visibly worn Shade and a seemingly satisfied Celestia walked out of the room. Twilight jumped up to embrace the tired man as best she could, while Celestia stood off to the side and stretched.

"Well, I look forward to see you two another time, hopefully for a more social gathering." With that, the princess walked off and away to the throne room. The soldiers and Twilight stood there and watched her leave with slightly dumbfounded expressions, except for Shade who just looked at Twilight with a pleading and tired expression.

"Can we go home now?"

* * *

_Clack._

"Missed."

"I know."

"Just making sure."

_Clack_.

"… don't you fucking da-"

"…Missed."

"Goddamn it Rook!" Shade vented as he pushed himself up off the ground into a sitting position, his suppressed rifle now on its side on the grass. "Do you have to be such a dick?" Rook in turn rolled onto his side to look back at his friend, a barely-concealed smirk on his face revealing that he was more than enjoying how much he was riling up Shade.

"No, I don't have to. But I want to." His statement was met by Shade's middle finger as he went about unloading his rifle. The two soldiers had taken the day to go kill some time; venturing out into a clearing far enough from the town to minimize risk before shooting at various targets they had set up.

Shade was sure that Applejack was about to throw that bucket of apples away anyway.

"So… it's been what, about a week and a half since we got here, and a week since that princess took you aside back at the castle. Are you going to let me in on what she told you or what?" Rook asked as he packed away his binoculars and fastened his pack up.

"Well, as it turns out, this peaceful world of theirs isn't as peaceful as it's made out to be. There's conflict going on out there," Shade says as he gestures out to the vast expanses around them, "but both princesses and the higher echelons of their government are doing their best to keep news of it quiet. Really, the only people who have any idea of what's really happening is the military themselves.

"Not to mention that the majority of their military is mostly a glorified National Guard with little to no direct offensive capability. They have expeditionary guard groups that can deploy to wherever they're needed and hold the line, but they just don't have that ability to push back." Shade finished packing his rifle away and looked over to Rook, who looked back with scepticism written as plain as day on his face.

"Why do I get the impression that we're going to be the ones doing the 'pushing'?"

"We won't be 'pushing' per se, more like 'ensuring that the enemy can't push as hard as normal' if that makes sense." Rook rolled his eyes at Shade's euphemism, more than understanding what he meant.

"So, we're playing the role of 'military advisors'? Why do I get the feeling that this'll turn into another Vietnam or Syria?"

"Because it won't." Shade was resolute with his answer. "Not if I can help him, it won't."

"If you say so…" Rook sighed as he shouldered his rifle and took aim at the target. With a smooth squeeze of the trigger, he fired."

_Click._

"… safety's still on, mate."

"… I knew that."

* * *

**I'M BACK BITCHES!**

**Okay, got that out of my system. I swear I needed a dose of antihistamines when I opened this due to the dust that had collected on the story. I'm REALLY sorry for leaving you hanging like that guys, seriously. Life is what happens when you're busy making over plans, let me tell you that.**

**Updates will remain infrequent though; I'm working full time now and studying part time on the side, so there goes a majority of my free time. Plus I am a bit of a gamer too, so there goes more time. And I've been reading a metric fuck-ton of RWBY, COD and FIM fanfic lately, which is where the rest of my time goes. :/ **

**But yes, this story is STILL ALIVE, even if it's been in a comatose state for god knows how long... let me check the last update date, back in a sec...  
****29th of April 2015... a year and a month... yikes.**

**Anyway, see you around guys! Don't be afraid to drop a review or even a message to touch base; a few of you still do!**


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